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In our text in Matthew, we read this morning about the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The last day of Jesus' earthly life is recorded by all four of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and their accounts of this day make a fascinating study. It is probably the most important day in the history of the earth and the events of that day contains many lessons for our life, some of which are so profound that we will never completely understand them.

Jesus was crucified on the 14th of the Jewish month Nisan which corresponds to the last half of our March and the first half of April. It was the year 30. A.D. and Jesus had been arrested around 2 am of that day and had spent the early morning in three illegal trials before the Jewish leaders. It was not until 6 am (to the Jew, the 1st hour of the day) that Jesus was finally brought before Pilate. It was right before 9 am when Jesus was sentenced to die. He was beaten and then taken immediately to the hill called Golgotha to be crucified at 9 am. He was crucified, nailed to a cross between two thieves and mocked incessantly from 9 am to 12 noon. The scriptures say that those who passed by laughed at Him and made caustic jeers such as "if He is really God, then let Him save Himself." "If He is the King of Israel, then let Him come down from the cross and we will believe Him." The soldiers laughed at Him and divided up His garments among themselves. When they could not agree who got to keep the overcoat which was seamless, they gambled for it at the foot of the cross. As the bright spring sun rose to the top of the sky and shone down brightly upon the events, the High Priest and Jewish leaders, the enemies of Jesus who had persecuted Him throughout His ministry, stood by cheerfully joining in making fun of this man who now hung naked and shamed, dying a more painful death than any human being ought to have to suffer. They had rejected Him as their Messiah and to them, Jesus Christ was simply a problem being disposed of. Even BOTH the thieves that were being crucified at this time joined in the mockery, and even though they were in the same plight and in the same pain, and for far worse crimes, they for some reason felt obligated to curse Him to His face and regale Him with abuse even though they themselves were hanging from a tree as well! We often focus on the physical side of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and rightfully so, but we should also remember the horrible mental anguish and suffering that Christ endured. Hanging there, giving His very life for their sins, Jesus had to endure the worst verbal torrent that any crucified man would ever have to face. They thought they had the upper hand and so they could not resist the diabolical side of human nature that wants to kick your enemies when they are seemingly down.

But in one second everything changed. As the shadow of the midday sun lengthened and crept forward on the sundial and met the sixth hour of the Jewish day (to us 12 noon), something happened that disrupted the jeers and the taunts toward the one upon the cross. Something happened that was completely unexpected and that had never before happened at a crucifixion before and would never happen again. Suddenly at the height of the scornful and injurious torrent of words that were being directed toward the precious Lamb of God, the lights went out! The sun stopped shining. One previous second, the hill of death had been lit brightly by the noon day sun, and the next it was as dark as midnight. The words of those who stood upon that hillside are not recorded for us, but I can imagine the shock and incredulous stares that the soldiers gave each other. I can imagine the doubts and confused thoughts of the Pharisees and Jewish leaders. Even though they tried to push the thought from their mind, they all were thinking the same sobering question: "What is going on, uh oh maybe we made a mistake...?" The scriptures tell us that the darkness lasted from 12 noon until 3 pm. Three long hours. Three horrible hours. For three hours Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside was as if it were the middle of the night. The feast and holy rituals taking place in the temple because of the Passover stopped. The millions of Jewish visitors that were camped in the streets and around the outside wall of the city ceased activity. Something was going on that had never happened before. Life shut down. Darkness at noon? Three hours of darkness? The last time that had happened, well, it had to be when Moses, the deliverer had come to Egypt to set the children of Israel free. Except that was three days of darkness! As the scared children of the city cuddled up to their parents and grandparents and the older folks discussed how that they hoped that this darkness didn't last for three days, sadly very few realized the similarities between this period of darkness and the story of Moses. The deliverer of Israel had come to save them from the sinful world, only this time, it was not the Nile river turning to blood, but a river of blood that flowed from the pierced hands and feet and crown of thorns upon their saviour's head. This time it was not a representational Passover lamb that was dying, but THE Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world. He was the first born of all creation who would die that men might have the hope of applying His blood to their lives and obtaining salvation and forgiveness! But most of them were so caught up in their tradition that they failed to realize the true reason of the darkness. But some did. Some made the connection between what was happening outside the city on the Hill of Golgotha and the darkness. They did not fully understand but somehow it made sense. For His believers' the sky matched their mood that fateful day. For the scoffers and the High Priest and Jewish leaders who had before been making fun of their object of scorn, were now fearfully silent, and because they could not see well enough to get to their homes within the city, they were forced to stay upon the hill to watch the rest of the events. Through three hours of darkness, God had interrupted the normal life flow of an entire region and people. Through three hours of darkness, God got the attention of those who had only seconds before been unbelievers. Through three hours of darkness, God spoke louder than He had ever spoken before.

It was no solar eclipse. Some Bible scholars have tried to say that the darkness came from a solar eclipse but it did not. I have seen a full solar eclipse before, and they happen from time to time. A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun all three bodies are aligned in the same plane. When this happens, and the distance is just so that the moon completely blocks the Earth's view of the sun, then a total eclipse occurs. It is a natural result of the moon's orbit around the sun. There is a narrow place of 100 to 200 miles wide where these three heavenly bodies can meet and produce a solar eclipse. Sooner or later it is going to happen. The next total solar eclipse will be on August 21, 2017 and will be visible along a 70 mile wide line that will stretch from Salem, Oregon and Charleston, North Carolina. Most thorough science reference books have a list of every solar eclipse that has ever occurred. They happen at a regular interval and armed with only a calculator and a fair knowledge of Astronomy, you could calculate the date of every previous solar eclipse seen from a particular spot on Earth.

There are references in the scriptures to total solar eclipses and we can even line most of them up to science history. One is mentioned in the book of Amos:

This scripture corresponds perfectly with the total solar eclipse that could be seen in Jerusalem on February 9, 784 B.C. In similar fashion, Micah 3:6 corresponds to the total eclipse that happened June 5, 716 B.C. Jeremiah 15:9 correlates perfectly with the total solar eclipse of September 30, 610 B.C. I have no problem with the fact that God used an event which He set up and created for His divine purpose at times. But there was not a solar eclipse the day of Jesus' crucifixion. In fact, the night that Jesus was arrested there was a full moon, which means that even a partial solar eclipse would have been impossible the day following. In fact, not only were the planets not lined up right on that day, but a total solar eclipse lasts for only 2.5 to 7.5 minutes. It's creepy and quite dramatic, but nothing compared to the three full hours of darkness the day that Jesus died. The events of that day were not a natural phenomenon that was timed perfectly but was the miraculous hand of Almighty God! It was not something that happened as a result of the laws of nature or the positioning of the planets in their orbit around the sun, but a divine measure of God that silenced the scoffers and shocked Jerusalem that day.

Three hours of darkness. . . . and then Jesus died. Three hours of darkness and then the Saviour of the world drew His last breath! And the moment that Jesus died, there was a tremendous earthquake and rocks flew through the air as if they were balloons and light as a feather. When He died, the vail, the six-inch thick curtain, that was hanging in the large temple in Jerusalem separating man from the presence of God was ripped open by the hand of the Almighty. At the moment Jesus died, the scriptures say that graves were opened and saints got up and walked around and went into Jerusalem to visit their relatives. The fear of many people as they sat quietly with their families in their homes during the darkness suddenly turned to shock and then joy as deceased loved ones knocked on the door and greeted them! The earthquake, the noise, the dead being raised to life, caused Jerusalem to become a madhouse. People excitedly rushed about with the news of an aunt or a grandparent that was now living. Neighbors rushed to help rescue some that had become trapped by the power of the earthquake and the falling debris. And in the excitement, it took everyone a few moments to realize what else had changed at the moment of Jesus' death: the lights had come back on. Three hours of darkness and now the sun shone brightly as if it had never disappeared. It was now 3 pm and the sunshine streamed in the windows of their homes the same way that it always did, but everything was not the same as it had always been. In fact the death of a righteous man outside the city had forever changed everything, and it happened ... during three hours of darkness!

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During your life, you will have periods of darkness. Life has a rhythm and the only thing sure is change. There will be times of sadness and gloominess, of trial and tribulation, of testing and hardship, and bad days that come from the natural cycle of life. They are a part of living in a sinful world. God didn't create them, and the devil doesn't deserve the credit. There are some times that you will have to endure, these periods of darkness, that are just a result of life in an imperfect world. They are a natural occurrence.

Likewise, a lifestyle of sin will always bring you heartache and problems. It is the natural result of sin. Sin brings death and destruction and hardships. Sin shortens lives and destroys homes and kills relationships. Sin will always bring about a time of darkness in your life, either sooner, later, or both. You can't help but have bad moments living in sin. "Darkness to light" was a favorite analogy of the preachers of the Early Church such as Paul and Peter. They recalled that Jesus said that "I am the light." And they likened salvation to being pulled out of dense, blinding darkness to seeing clearly in the light. When you were lost, you were stumbling about as if you were in pitch black darkness, but when the light of the Gospel shined into your life, it brought hope and vision and purpose and direction and happiness! Thank God that through the death of Jesus Christ, we have an escape from the darkness of sin! We do not have to live our life bound and shaded, but can walk clearly in the light of the Word of God! If you are still trying to fulfill the emptiness and dark void within you through the sinful ways of the world, I want to tell you that there is a better way! You need the light of the truth of God's Word to shine into your life! You need to Repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus and have your sinful past washed away. And then when the Holy Ghost comes into your life, you will have the spiritual effect of the blind man that Jesus commanded to go wash in the pool of Siloam: you will be able to see your life for the purpose that God intended it and things that you could not decipher before, will suddenly become crystal clear! If you have never experienced the power of the infilling of the Holy Ghost, then it is as if I am trying to describe to a blind man what it is like to see the sunlight peak over the horizon! You really have never lived until you have came out of the darkness and "into this marvelous light!"

There is no other way of living that beats living for God! Thank God that I didn't have to stay in the darkness of my sins!

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But there will also be a period of three hours of darkness in your life. There is going to be a period of darkness that is not accidental nor brought upon you by the devil. There will be a time in your life where God brings a period of darkness into your life. Where He puts the trial in your path. Where He tests you and sees if your commitment is really true. The three hours of darkness was the handiwork of God and God alone.

We need sermons to help us get victory over the dark snares of Satan, but that is not the focus of this morning's message. Jesus clearly showed us the way to overcome him, by the Word of God. Every time Jesus was tempted of Satan, Jesus responded with "it is written...". But the power came not from simply quoting the Word of God but from living according to the Word of God! James said "Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and He will flee from you" (James 4:7). If you are having trouble with Satan, then simply submit your life to God's Word and the Devil has to flee. His spirit of darkness cannot stay around you if your life and attitude is completely devoted to God!

We need sermons to encourage us through the low points of life, the dark times that come naturally with living in a sinful world, but that is not the focus of this sermon either. There will be times, that we must just stand for God and realize that it "rains on the just and the unjust" and God sometimes allows bad things to happen to good people to show the world that He is fair and just. The way you make it through such times is to realize that this too, "will come to pass," and eventually the season will change. We serve a God who is always faithful in the bad times.

This sermon is about a period of three hours of darkness. The times in your life when you are on trial and you have prayed and fasted and submitted yourself to everything that you know in God's Word. This sermon is about when you are going through a trial, and you have fought against the devil and nothing has happened. And you know that it is not just a bad season of life. It is obvious that God has allowed you to go through a period of darkness for His plan's sake. I feel like this church has been going through a time of testing from God the past few months. I feel like I personally have gone through a time of testing the past few months. The fact that God has led me to preach this message shows me that many of you are being tested by God right now. You are going through a period of "three hours of darkness." Resisting the devil hasn't helped because he didn't send the trial. Changing your schedule of life didn't help because it's not life. It is dark because it is three hours of darkness from God! I want to finish this sermon by giving you some answers why God sometimes brings three hours of darkness upon our lives.

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One of the main reasons that I can find for God bringing three hours of darkness, is to convince unbelievers of their need for Him! The scriptures clearly state that at first both thieves that were crucified with Jesus Christ railed upon and cursed Him! That is, both thieves joined in the mockery of Jesus BEFORE the three hours of darkness. And the darkness ended with the death of Jesus Christ. What was it that caused one of the thieves to change his mind and call out to Jesus for help? What was it that caused one of them to realize that this man might really be what the sign above His head says? What changed his viewpoint? Three hours of darkness. It was during the time of darkness that the penitent thief got the revelation that he needed Jesus. I know that the thief was saved under Law because under the Law, you needed a sacrificial Lamb and a High Priest to offer it up to you to be saved. Jesus Christ was both our Lamb and our High Priest, so the thief did not need to be baptized because it was not the time of Grace yet. But yet there is a principle here: it took the period of three hours of darkness to make the thief realize that he needed this man whom he before had only cursed!

I'm reminded of another story in scripture. The man's name was Saul who would later become the Apostle Paul. Paul didn't start out a Jesus' name preacher! He started out as the smartest of the Pharisees and the most zealous persecutor of the Church of Jesus Christ that the world had ever seen! Not only did Paul not believe that Jesus Christ was the way of salvation, but he would kill you if you admitted you believed it! But where every one else saw a hard case beyond the reach of mercy. God saw an opportunity to call the greatest missionary that would ever live. Some of you are familiar with the story found in the ninth chapter of Acts. Paul who is then called Saul is traveling to the city of Damascus to persecute Christians there, when suddenly he is met by a great light shining from heaven and the voice of Jesus from the clouds! The light and voice knocked Saul down to the ground and shocked him to the very core of his being! But Saul did not receive the Holy Ghost there on the road to Damascus. In fact the voice from heaven told him to go on into Damascus and await further instruction:

God allowed Saul to sit for three days without sight. Three days of darkness. It was his "three hours of darkness" if you will. His trial did not come from Satan or life, but was a work of God Almighty. And it was AFTER the three days that Saul was willing to die out to his pride and tradition and flesh and follow Jesus! I think Saul spend those three days repenting of his sins and phariseeism. I think that God allowed those three days of darkness to utterly convince Saul of his need for a true relationship with Jesus Christ! It was AFTER the three days of darkness that Ananias, a servant of Jesus Christ was sent to Saul to heal his sight, baptize him, and pray him through to the Holy Ghost!

Can I tell you, church, don't be surprised when you begin to pray for your unsaved loved ones and their lives begin to fall apart?! Don't be surprised if you are living in sin and you gently feel the nudge of Jesus calling to your heart and then things begin to go wrong! God still uses "three hours of darkness." I'm preaching to some of you today that are sitting in a Pentecostal church and are being more sensitive to the Spirit of God than you ever dreamed that you would be, and the reason is because God has allowed your life to fall into shambles and allowed things to get to the point where you couldn't make it on your own and you knew it. He brought upon a three hours of darkness period in your life, because thankfully He could see past the cursing and past the sin and past the mask and realize that in your heart you don't want to be lost! Some of you are humble today simply because of the trials that you have faced the past few years. Don't get bitter and blame the devil. God is the one who sent the trial. Not because He dislikes you, but because He loves you and even when you were cursing Him, He loved you and knew that, like the thief and Saul, you needed a period of God-sent darkness in your life to get your attention! Some of you that are filled with the Holy Ghost and delivered from your past lifestyle can think back and remember that God had to get you to the bottom before you would turn your life over to Him! You can testify and even praise God for three hours of darkness!

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Another reason that I can find in scripture for a period of three hours of darkness from God is to prove to remind everyone that He is still in control of the situation no matter what it looks like. Before the period of darkness, it very much looked like the Roman soldiers and Jewish leaders were in control. Before the darkness the soldiers were going about business as usual and Jesus Christ was just another criminal to them. Before the darkness, John and the followers of Jesus including His mother, were staring at a scene that seemed as if Jesus had lost all power. They had seen Him do miracle after miracle but now He just hung there and "why didn't He do something?" Before the darkness, their faith was as low as the voices of ridicule from the Jewish leaders was high!

But as the darkness swept over the land, I find a change in the Roman soldiers. Their leader, the Roman centurion, bowed a knee and said "surely this is the Son of God." He admitted what the Jewish leaders were thinking but wouldn't dare admit. The darkness caused the soldiers to never forget this crucifixion and to be unable to forget this man. Somehow, they realized that He is who He said He was! And as the disciples of Jesus watched Him suffer, I believe their faith was greatly increased the moment that the darkness came at noon. It was as if God was saying "don't worry, trust me, I'm still in control." "I'm dying not because there is no other choice, but because I choose to!" It was not the nails that held Him to the cross that day but His love for you and I! The three hours of darkness reminded Jesus' followers that He was still very much in control no matter what the situation looked like.

Some times we forget that God is in control and He has to bring a period of darkness to remind us that we still need to trust Him! The events of September 11 were not from the devil or life. I believe that God allowed them to happen just as a reminder -- and one that America seems to have largely forgotten -- that He is still the ultimate authority. Now they are trying to kick the ten commandments out of the court houses, but for a few days after the attacks nobody cared if you prayed in school or at work. I'm here to tell you that if we are to see the kind of revival today in America that they had in the Apostolic church, then God will have to send another three hours of darkness. September 11 is not the last tragedy that we will see. And it is not that God doesn't like us, but quite the opposite, God wants to see America saved, and if He has to shut down the gods of America and stir up your comfort zone and nest egg to do it, then He will do it! There is nothing like three hours of darkness to shake you to the realization that God is still very much in control of this world, and you and I need Him! And God will use three hours of darkness at the same time to reinforce the faith of the church!

Another reason that God sends three hours of darkness is when people are running from His divine call and direction. He has chosen to use imperfect men for His perfect cause and sometimes we get our priorities mixed up. Jonah didn't want to preach a message of mercy to Nineveh, but after God allowed him to spend three days in darkness in the belly of a great fish, he changed his mind! Joseph's brothers didn't want to bring their younger brother back to Egypt and face their past and wrongdoing, but three dark nights in prison changed their focus! In the Old Testament, Saul was out looking for his donkeys for three days when he came upon the prophet Samuel who told him that God had anointed and appointed him as king! :"The donkeys," said the prophet, "have already went home!" God had just used them as a trial to get Saul from what he was comfortable doing to what the will of God was in his life! It was the same story when Pharaoh's butler had to spend three dark days in jail, only to meet Joseph, who trusted in the one, true living God! God had a plan for the butler to be the one to help Joseph get to the palace!

Sometimes we get frustrated when a trial comes our way and it seems that we can't pray or fast our way out of it! Maybe it's from God! Maybe He is not changing the situation because He is trying to change you! It's a period of three hours of darkness! And God is working behind the scenes to see His perfect will come true in your life! Maybe you are like the butler and God has allowed the three days of darkness to come just so that you can help someone who you will happen to meet during the trial! Whatever you do, don't get discouraged in the time of darkness! If God is the cause of it, then you cannot help but come out victorious and closer to Him!

We like to quote Psalms 91 because it is the "protective scripture" which gives us the hope of deliverance from things that would try to harm us:

What a promise! But I want to point out something. First of all, you must go through a period of darkness to know that God can deliver you from the enemies in the darkness. The second is that this protection and deliverance that God promised is to those who "dwelleth in the secret place of the most High!" Realizing that, listen to another, less familiar scripture:

God sends periods of darkness in Christian's lives to teach them to completely trust in Him! It is in a period of darkness that you realize the protective power of God! It is when you need Him that you will call out to Him and find out that He is true and faithful! It's in the darkness that we really become convinced that God can do anything in our lives and sell out to Him!

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And finally, it's in the darkness that we shine the brightest. If we are to be the light in this world, then God will often send "three hours of darkness" to cause you to stand out! In the day light, Jesus was someone to which the crowd called out "crucify him, crucify him!" Jesus was the light of the world, but He really did not become visible to some until the three hours of darkness:

The crowd that had mocked Him and shouted "crucify Him" were forever changed by the three hours of darkness! They had seen the miracles and heard the sermons and seen the changed lives and yet were not convinced that Jesus Christ was who He said He was. But after seeing the three hours of darkness come upon Him and hearing Him forgive those very people who killed Him, they walked away from that place and "smote their breast" which meant that they realized that He really was their King and their Messiah and they felt conviction at having killed Him!

God will bring a period of "three hours of darkness" in your life sometimes for the only reason of revealing the light of Jesus Christ through you! Everybody can smile on a good day, but what about during a time of darkness? Could it be that God would let you have a horrible week simply to use you to shine to others? If that is so, then how is your attitude during your time of darkness? Is it one of bitterness, or one of forgiveness? Is it one of depression and downcastedness? Or is your faith in Jesus Christ so high that you can smile on the worst day of your life and say "God is still in control" and therefore I will praise Him and love Him! Maybe God keeps a period of darkness in your life because you are praying for God to help you win others and He wants others to see a different reaction to trials and hardships in you than they see in other people! Do they? Could it be that the darkness has not lifted because you have not learned the lesson?!

It was those same Jewish people who had been in town at the Passover feast and had yelled "crucify Him, crucify Him," that were in town for the feast of Pentecost and heard Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost. Yet this time their response was different. The words of Peter struck their hearts and they wanted to know "what can we do to get things right with Jesus Christ!" Peter responded by telling them to Repent, be baptized in Jesus' name and receive the Holy Ghost and THOUSANDS responded by obeying! What changed these people's minds? They were from out of town, so they had not seen a resurrected Christ. It was the effect of three hours of darkness! It had made such an impact on their lives that they could not help but respond to the Word of God! I'm am preaching to people today, perhaps you've been going through the worst trial of your life or a severe time of testing, and I'm here today to tell you that God is in it! He has not failed you and in fact is doing the greatest work in your life that He has ever done! Why don't you respond to the Word today!?

When Solomon dedicated the temple, the scripture say that:

There is a God here that specializes in ministering in the thickest darkness! If I am preaching to you today, why don't you allow the Spirit of God to minister to you and to change you to what God wants you to be. That's the purpose of His "three hours of darkness!"